permalink, etc.

The other day I was showing someone my blog and discovered that the galleries had changed to a slideshow and that the descriptions that I had written under each photo no longer show. Days later I discovered "permalink" written under each photo where the information was found. I do not want the photos to run in a slideshow. The permalink option is NOT intuitive. I had recommended wordpress.com to others but now I'm not so sure. This was changed without my consent or knowledge. I wanted to showcase my art, but this is not a good option. I don't have the time to research other themes. Is there one that I can switch to which will show the images like the twenty-eleven theme used to?

I also figured that I could put up a sticky note explaining this to my readers, but I couldn't find that option. Am I missing something? I have never tried a sticky note before, but am told that it just stays on the page.

If I could, I would remove the header from the other pages. I only want it on the home page, but apparently I can't do that. It is too big and it is hard to tell that you have moved from one page to the other without scrolling down each time.

Sadly, we have no choice on the "carousel" feature on the galleries now. It is automatic and cannot be turned off. There has been a good bit of discussion about this in the forums after it was launched and the bottom line was most of us wanted a way to turn it off. Apparently that was too much to ask. Staff have said that image views site-wide have gone up considerably after the carousel was implemented, but there is the issue with the descriptions and the fact that they are hiding behind a term that not everyone knows.

Staff have said it is a work in progress and that there will be more changes coming and hopefully the changes will make it more intuitive and useful.

Why does WordPress stand by the carousel view so strongly when every comment is opposed to the change? It seems that WordPress has opted for a setting that lost customer service and appeal. Was there no thought or discussion about the titles and descriptions users loaded with images? We would all be really appreciative if the carousel was dropped, made an option, or at least descriptions added to the images in a quick timely manner because this is our means of business. Agree, many users are benefiting from a free service, but I pay for my service and I am not happy with the service.
There sure are a lot of fancy options with WordPress, and it's bogus that it cannot be turned off because it's "automatic". We just hope that the changes have us in mind, and actually solve the problems. And seriously, how long can it take to change "permalink" to "more information" or "descriptions". Changing the wording and actually including the descriptions/caption would be the easiest help.
Cheers

We Volunteers simply answer questions to the best of our abilities. We don't have any role to play in the process of features that are added by Staff. You can of share your feedback with Staff if you wish.